1651 · Paris
by (ENGRAVED BOOKS - 17TH CENTURY). (BINDINGS - CAPÉ). (PRAYER BOOK)
Paris: Chez F. Mazot, 1651. 172 x 118 mm. (6 3/4 x 4 3/4"). [3], 34 leaves, 35-39, [1] pp., [2] leaves.
LOVELY CRIMSON CRUSHED MOROCCO, GILT AND ONLAID, BY CAPÉ (stamp-signed on front turn-in), covers with onlaid green morocco cornerpieces and central quatrefoil, all filled and surrounded by delicate pointillé tooling in floral and paisley designs, raised bands, spine compartments tooled in pointillé, gilt lettering, richly gilt turn-ins, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. In a felt-lined, morocco-lipped marbled paper slipcase. ENGRAVED THROUGHOUT, WITH 38 FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS, consisting of one portrait, two allegorical religious scenes (including title), and 35 illustrations of the Holy Eucharist, 40 pages of engraved text, 37 of these with text flanked by full-length figures of saints, accompanied by other religious symbols at head and foot of page, two framed with vignettes of angels or the Madonna, one page with text only. Front pastedown with "A W F" book label of bookseller Adrian Fluhmann. Duportal, "Étude sur les livres à figures," pp. 244-45; Brunet V, 624; Graesse VI, 4; Leaves perhaps (very lightly) washed and pressed, but an extremely fresh, clean copy IN A SPARKLING BINDING.
Covered by a luxurious binding by Capé, this is a particularly attractive copy of a sumptuously illustrated prayer book composed entirely of engraved plates. According to Duportal, it is "One of three important publications whose engravings reveal the trend characteristic of religious illustrations in France between 1601 and 1660." The work opens with a dedication to Charles d'Aubespine, Marquis de Châteauneuf (1580-1653), with a full-page portrait by Guillame de Gheyn (b. 1610). The bulk of the book is made up of two groups of plates. Those in the first group, appearing primarily on the rectos, contain prayers in Latin and French flanked by pairs of saints; gaps in the prayers are filled by naturalistic flowers, insects, and birds. Many of these plates also include a scene (or two) in miniature, depicting the life of one or both of the saints or a vignette of angels. While just two of these engravings are signed "J. Collin," they all appear to be in the same hand, which demonstrates an impressive level of finesse and delicacy, depicting graceful figures with sure, light lines. Duportal notes that this artist had a "talent charmant," and that well-executed dry-points of this type are quite rare in French books of the period. The second group of engravings appear strictly on the versos, and depict the performance of a part of the Mass, beneath a cloud in which appears a relevant scene from the life of Christ. They are all unsigned, and clearly by a different hand with more rustic features--possibly "copies of originals published abroad," according to Duportal. The book concludes with two leaves of text framed by gamboling putti and the Virgin. Copies of this work can be found with varying numbers of leaves and engravings (apparently the result of multiple reprintings with added material produced between 1651-53), but the present item can be distinguished as an early (if not the very first) edition, as it does not contain "Privilege du Roy" dated 1652 or 1653. Furthermore, our copy also contains the earliest state of the plates, without the "I N R I" initials on the cross found on the title page, and with the earlier state of the verso engravings (before they were substantially reworked). Our edition seems to be quite rare, with OCLC finding just one other copy with the same sequence of contents, at the Bibliothèque Sainte-Genevieve. The stunning binding by Capé looks just as fresh and lustrous as the day it left its workshop. One of the most distinguished binders in France in the middle years of the 19th century, Capé (d. 1867) was especially well known for the delicacy of his work--which can be appreciated to full effect in the present example. He was the binder to the Empress Eugénie, and Béraldi calls him "the Bozérian of the second Empire." This is precisely the kind of book our former owner, the discriminating connoisseur-bookseller Fluhmann, would have owned.. (Inventory #: ST20278)
LOVELY CRIMSON CRUSHED MOROCCO, GILT AND ONLAID, BY CAPÉ (stamp-signed on front turn-in), covers with onlaid green morocco cornerpieces and central quatrefoil, all filled and surrounded by delicate pointillé tooling in floral and paisley designs, raised bands, spine compartments tooled in pointillé, gilt lettering, richly gilt turn-ins, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. In a felt-lined, morocco-lipped marbled paper slipcase. ENGRAVED THROUGHOUT, WITH 38 FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS, consisting of one portrait, two allegorical religious scenes (including title), and 35 illustrations of the Holy Eucharist, 40 pages of engraved text, 37 of these with text flanked by full-length figures of saints, accompanied by other religious symbols at head and foot of page, two framed with vignettes of angels or the Madonna, one page with text only. Front pastedown with "A W F" book label of bookseller Adrian Fluhmann. Duportal, "Étude sur les livres à figures," pp. 244-45; Brunet V, 624; Graesse VI, 4; Leaves perhaps (very lightly) washed and pressed, but an extremely fresh, clean copy IN A SPARKLING BINDING.
Covered by a luxurious binding by Capé, this is a particularly attractive copy of a sumptuously illustrated prayer book composed entirely of engraved plates. According to Duportal, it is "One of three important publications whose engravings reveal the trend characteristic of religious illustrations in France between 1601 and 1660." The work opens with a dedication to Charles d'Aubespine, Marquis de Châteauneuf (1580-1653), with a full-page portrait by Guillame de Gheyn (b. 1610). The bulk of the book is made up of two groups of plates. Those in the first group, appearing primarily on the rectos, contain prayers in Latin and French flanked by pairs of saints; gaps in the prayers are filled by naturalistic flowers, insects, and birds. Many of these plates also include a scene (or two) in miniature, depicting the life of one or both of the saints or a vignette of angels. While just two of these engravings are signed "J. Collin," they all appear to be in the same hand, which demonstrates an impressive level of finesse and delicacy, depicting graceful figures with sure, light lines. Duportal notes that this artist had a "talent charmant," and that well-executed dry-points of this type are quite rare in French books of the period. The second group of engravings appear strictly on the versos, and depict the performance of a part of the Mass, beneath a cloud in which appears a relevant scene from the life of Christ. They are all unsigned, and clearly by a different hand with more rustic features--possibly "copies of originals published abroad," according to Duportal. The book concludes with two leaves of text framed by gamboling putti and the Virgin. Copies of this work can be found with varying numbers of leaves and engravings (apparently the result of multiple reprintings with added material produced between 1651-53), but the present item can be distinguished as an early (if not the very first) edition, as it does not contain "Privilege du Roy" dated 1652 or 1653. Furthermore, our copy also contains the earliest state of the plates, without the "I N R I" initials on the cross found on the title page, and with the earlier state of the verso engravings (before they were substantially reworked). Our edition seems to be quite rare, with OCLC finding just one other copy with the same sequence of contents, at the Bibliothèque Sainte-Genevieve. The stunning binding by Capé looks just as fresh and lustrous as the day it left its workshop. One of the most distinguished binders in France in the middle years of the 19th century, Capé (d. 1867) was especially well known for the delicacy of his work--which can be appreciated to full effect in the present example. He was the binder to the Empress Eugénie, and Béraldi calls him "the Bozérian of the second Empire." This is precisely the kind of book our former owner, the discriminating connoisseur-bookseller Fluhmann, would have owned.. (Inventory #: ST20278)
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